Detection seal



Filed Feb. 24, 1941 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 29, 1944 DETECTION SEAL Albert J. Komenak, Stamford, Conn., assignor to The Excelsior Hardware Company, Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application February 24, 1941, Serial No. 380,295

6 Claims. (Cl. 292-318) This invention relates to a detection seal of the kind which includes a loop of flexible tie wire or the like adapted to be passed through or drawn tightly around otherwise separable container parts or projections therefrom and then fastened in a way to prevent enlargement of the loop thus requiring severing of the wire in order to open the container whereby reliable evidence may be had as to whether the closure of the container,

trunk, luggage, package, or the door of a freight locking unit by means automatically operative car for instance, has been opened since it was within the latter.

last closed and sealed. The invention also relates Fig. 2 is a view drawn on an enlarged scale to tie wire seals of this nature carrying joined to taken in section on the plane 22 in Fig. 1 lookthem an express tag or other identification ticket. ing in the direction of the arrows, the bare end Prior to these improvements, it has been con- 1 of the wire being absent from the wire locking sidered necessary to assemble as many as seven unit.

S par mechanical parts to produce a self acting Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing wire locking unit in detection seals of the kind the normal relationship of the spring lips of the described. This has resulted in higher cost of grab plate within the wire locking unit. manufacture and greater bulk in the finished Fig 4 Shows th i f th l drawn into product than is necessary or desirable for the place between the grab plate lips of Fig. 3. purposes it is designed to Serve- Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the Objects of the present improvements are to parts Shown assembled'in Fig. 2 reduce the number of parts heretofore required Fig 6 shows a difi tion of the casing cup in a detection seal for the purpose described, and of Fig 5 designed to proyide prongs for f t i to render the same smaller, lighter, more tamperthereto an express tag or the like proof and more agreeable to handle. Fig 7 shows a Wire lockin g unit incorporating Another obJect is to produce a small wafer-like b ait that shall be operative automatically to lock the modlfied caSmg-cup of mg 6 assembled wlth t I :m f th detection seal ainst .thdr I a cardboard or fabric tag, or the like.

r 51, e ag W awa Fig. 8 is a fragmentary enlarged view taken in m a to enlage the wlre: Pref section on the plane 88 in Fig. 7 looking in erably nnpi oved automatic wlre locking unit the direction of the arrows.

will be made of light weight sheet metal parts as Fig 9 is a fragmentary enlarged View taken in few as three in number. b i

A further object is to increase the positiveness g fgfigzfi g iig ggis g m 7 lookmg m the and dependability with which the wire is caught 10 h S m d 1 or tin and held by the automatic detent element Within a ig g gg i tlele ifi g g f f fl gfti ei bl o je t s to provide a wire locking i if p 2 d 5 1 b '0 unit of the kind described having smoothly 40 "d 1 c mem f rounded peripheral contours free from sharp e orme y if or g i e edges and protuberances of any kind at its edges 3 :3 g l figg i g i: g f z g $38 33 2 5 in order to make the lockin unit more comfortable to grasp and hold ingthe fingers of the wall 9 and the perlpheral rim portion H which users hand in the normal way of handling the rertrfams that i Q l sire por ions, 0 suc rim por ion can e cur e ii i ui iigfbif i 123 35111 a cupped h inward or set over as shown in Fig. 2 by an eyelet metal member so that a portion of its cylindrical Sewing tool Somet equivalent bending .Over rim may be rolled Over to effect a Secure, permam eration, and preferably without fracture at :any em and t m r r of assemblage of the 5 point. Attention is called to the notch I2 in ponent parts of the locking unit while other portions of this same rim are left available to serve as fastening prongs for joining the wire locking unit to an express tag or other form of identification card or ticket.

. ing, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows in complete form a detection seal embodying the present improvements, with its loop forming fastening wire having a bare terminal portion held against retraction from the rim ll which provides outlet for the tie wire 53 Whose permanently anchored end M is bent to conform to the arcuate curvature of cup rim II around, say, a half of the circle; Thus in the assembled locking unit of Fig. 2, this end of wire I3 becomes permanently fastened under the turned-over cut rim II.

In Fig. 2 wire I3 is seen to lie in planar contact with the flat annular marginal brim or border I5 of a thin,.cymbal-like closure disc or cover member I6 which is dished outward in its central web-like portion IT to make room for the flexing action of resilient lips I8 of a detent plate I9. Because the web-like portions of closure members I and I are of substantially coextensive area, their peripheries may be utilized as a means for uniting them permanently while leaving a chamber-like space therebetween.

The way in which lips I8 are formed in spurlikefashion from middle sections of detent plate I9 appears clearly in Figs. 3 and 5. Plate I9 is of proper overall length to have edgewise clearance with respect to the rim l I by which it is surrounded. I have found it is advantageous to confine plate I9 loosely enough so that it may float or shift rotatively and diametrically of its chamber or edgewise to an extent insuring that the wire when gripped between lips I8 shall not bind in apertures 20 or 2I in case the gripping edges of said lips should in the assembly be found slightly out of line with said apertures. Said extent of edgewise shifting is limited by the overall girth of the detent plate sufficiently to so restrict departure of the wire aperture at lips I8 from align ment with holes 20 and 2| that the wire may always be threaded serially through first the hole 2|, then between lips I8 and then through hole 20. The ends of plate I9 may have edges which curve correspondingly with the inside surface of cup rim II. Plate I9 may be out off from a running length of flat tempered steel ribbon. Preferably the temper of the steel in this ribbon and plate is sufficient to impart flexibility and good resilience to lips I8, and said lipsare partially sheared out of, and offset in spur-like fashion from, the flatsurrounding surface of the detent plate into an initial or normal relationship shown in Fig. 3.

The spring quality of lips I8 is such that they will resiliently flex to the position shown in Fig. 4 when a wire I3 is pushed between them by the operators fingers. Thereafter this wire may then be drawn toward the left between lips I8. The free ends of lips I8 have sharp edge corners and are preferably much harder than the metal of wire I3 so that any attempt to withdraw wire IS in a direction from leftto right in Fig. 4 will be met by the positive resistance of lips I8. These lips will then try to flex and follow the wire toward the right but thereupon must dig into the wire and thus prevent it from slipping between the lips since the latter, themselves, can not flex back toward their position in. Fig. 3 while wire I3 is present therebetween.

Preferably I employ a wire which is sl ghtly roughened on its surface by means of a running series of close tiny crosswise indentations 22 along its length. These may conveniently be formed by passing the wire lengthwise between suitable knurling rollers. Indentations, such as 22, are not necessary Where lips I8 are sufficiently sharp edged and sufficiently harder than the metal of the wire and are pressed thereagainst with sufficient spring force, but when present these indentations serve to increase the positiveness with which the wire is grabbed by lips I8 to prevent its movement toward the right. Movement toward the left is of course always freely permitted because lips I 8 are freeto flex in that direction only, as the wire passes therebetween.

or slug of the size of the desired aperture.

Figs. 2 and 5 show an aperture 2! in the center of cover I6 and a similar aperture 2I in the center of casing cup I0, both of these apertures being larger than the size of the wire I3 and punched out of the sheet metal by spreading outward the border of the aperture instead of removing a blank In this way each of apertures 20 and 2I becomes bordered by a broken flange of appreciable axial length forming an inwardly smooth, conical slide bearing free from sharp edges so that wire I3 in passing from the right toward the left may be smoothly pulled into aperture 2| from even obliquely disposed directions. This expedient will tend to draw out kinks which may be present in the wire.

Whereas the thickness of the sheet materials of which my improved wire locking unit is composed may vary with the sizes of wire and areas of the parts, I have found it practical for use with a wire of approximately 3 diameter and a seal of the approximate size shown in Fig. l, to make the members I0 and I6 out of soft steel about thick and the plate I9 out of spring tempered hard steel about .006" thick. Member Ill may be dished outwardly like a cymbal as well as, or in place of, so dishing member I6 as shown in Fig. 10 at 9.

In Fig. 6 the rim 25 of a modified form of casing cup 26 is shown to be castellated to produce al-- ternately long pointed prongs or tangs 21 and shorter blunt tabs 28. Only the latter are turned over and set down over the anchored end of tie wire I3 in the manner shown in Fig. 9, whereas the long pointed prongs 21 are left straight and are long enough to penetrate through an express tag 29 or other form of cardboard or fabric identification ticket as shown in Fig. 8. Prongs 21 may thereupon be bent over flat against the 0pposite surface of the express tag as shown in Fig. 7 thereby fastening such tag to the wire locking unit so that the former will serve as a permanent part of the latter.

In applying my simplified and improved detection seal to any article which has one or more engageable openings through which tie wire I3 may be passed and drawn up to a tight loop as the bare end of the wire is pulled through the automatic locking unit, the locking unit may be held by the fingers of one hand. With the fingers of the other hand the free end of the tie wire is passed around or through openings in the container parts to be sealed and is then pushed from right to left in Fig. 2 by grasping the wire a short distance from its free end. Thus said free end of the wire is pushed through aperture, 2| to any desired extent. This causes it to be directed between the lips I8 and on therefrom out of the aperture 20. When sufficient length of the wire emerges from aperture 20 the balance of its length may be pulled rather than pushed through the locking unit until the loop (Fig. 1 or Fig. 7) is drawn to as small a size as is permitted by the container parts which it encompasses or the projections therefrom which it connects. After this, the excess length of the wire which has passed through the locking unit may or may not be cut off as desired.

Thus the detent plate I9 acts as a locking elebetween and fastened in planar contact with the fiat brim surface of member H and the bent over rim ll of member Hi.

When once sealed by my improved seal of Figs. 1 or 7, the only way in which access can. be gained to the sealed closure parts, such as the cover and body of a container held tightly together by the loop of tie wire shown in either Fig. 1 or Fig. '7, is to sever or break this wire. While this, of course can be donewithout great difficulty, the fact of the tampering will be made known and can not be concealed since there will not remain a sufficient length of the broken wire to enable the still remaining length to reach and again be passed through the automatic locking unit. Reliable evidence is thus assured as to whether or not any container to which my improved seal has been applied has been entered since the seal was originally applied.

Fig. 8 shows that a particularly secure binding of the flexible material of the tag against the stiff bulging face of member 16 resistive to edgewise pull on the tag or ticket results from the snubbing effect in the assemblage herein illustrated since the tag is thereby warped to form a hollow and the seal in effect becomes nested therewithin. In this and other ways the exact constructions herein disclosed as examples of how the invention may be put into practice are susceptible of modifications and substitutions within the scope of the novel principles taught by this disclosure, wherefore the appended .claims will be understood as directed to and intended to cover all such modifications, substitutes, and equivalents as fairly fall within their terms.

I claim:

1. A self locking tie wire detection seal including the combination of, chamber defining members permanently secured together, one of which members comprises a shallow thin-walled cup having an inwardly bent over rim and a central opening and the other of which members comprises a discal member having a flat faced planar brim and contains a central opening a stretch of tie wire adapted to pass straight through both of said openings and said chamber, a detent plate in said chamber, at least one Wire locking instrumentality carried by said detent plate operative automatically to prevent withdrawal of said stretch of wire from said chamber in the opposite direction, and a different stretch of said tie wire bowed and fastened in planar contact with the fiat face of said planar brim of the discal member by said bent-over rim of said cup.

2. A self locking tie wire detection seal including the combination, with a suflicient length of wire to form a binding loop, of two closure members apertured to pass said wire freely therethrough permanently fixed together and cooperatively shaped to provide a chamber-like space between said members, a detent plate in said space containing an aperture through which a stretch of said wire may pass while occupying said space, and a flexible lip carried by said plate disposed in oblique relation to the stretch of said wire within said space and having its free edge bearing resiliently against said stretch of wire, said plate being free to be shifted edgewise by said wire in said chamber-like space within the limits of lateral movement of said wire with respect to said apertured closure members.

3. A self locking tie Wire detection seal including the combination, with a, sufiicient length of wire to form a binding loop, of two closure members fixed permanently together and cooperatively shaped to provide a chamber-like space therebetween and having respective openings at least one of which is larger than said wire whereby said wire may pass freely through both of said members and possess. lateral play in said opening, a detent plate in said space containing an aperture admitting therethrough a stretch of said wire, and at least one flexible lip bordering on said aperture in oblique relation to said Wire and carried by said plate in a manner to press resiliently against said wire, the said plate being free to be shifted edgewise by lateral movement of said wire in said opening.

4. A self locking tie wire detection seal as defined in claim 3, in which the said detent plate has a peripheral edge shaped and disposed in cooperative relation to one of the said closure members in a manner sufiiciently to restrict departure of the said plate aperture from the said member openings always to enable said wire to be threaded serially through one of said openings and then through said aperture and then through the other of said openings.

5. A self locking tie wire detection seal including the combination, with a sufiicient length of wire to form a binding loop, of chamber inclosing members permanently fixed together, one of said member comprising a shallow thin walled cup having a central opening through which a stretch of said wire may freely pass, and the other of said members comprising a cymbal-shaped disc having a, flat annular border and a central opening through which said stretch of wire may freely,

pass, a detent plate between said members containing an aperture through which said stretch of said wire may be drawn in one direction, and an automatic wire locking element carried by said plate to prevent withdrawal of said wire in the reverse direction, the margin of said plate being sandwiched between said border of the cymbalshaped disc and the thin wall of said shallow cup and the rim of said cup being turned inward to overlap said border retainingly.

6. A self locking tie wire detection seal including the combination, with a sufficient length of wire to form a binding loop, of closure members permanently fixed together having apertures to pass said wire freely therethrough at least one of said apertures being oversize with respect to said wire, one of said members comprising a shallow thin walled cup, and the other of said members comprising a cymbal-shaped disc having a flat annular border, a detent plate between said members containing an aperture through which a stretch of said wire may pass, and an automatic wire locking element carried by said plate, said plate being floatingly retained between the border flange of said disc and the thin wall of said cup in a manner to .be freely shiftable edgewise by lateral movement of said wire relative to said apertured closure members.

ALBERT J. KOMENAK.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,556,856. August 29 19th.

ALBERT J. KOI EENAK.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1, sec- 0nd column, line L .8, for "somet" read -some-; page 2, first column, line 2, for the word "cut" read -cuppage 5, first column, line 1.114., claim 1, after "opening" insert a comma; and second column, line 51;, claim 5, for "member comprising" read members comprising-; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform tothe record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 21st day of November, A. D. 19%.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

